Hear the poet speak

To rudely paraphrase the late Rex Nettleford, the quintessential intellectual and man of dance and letters, greater truths are often arrived at via the creative imagination than from hard facts and figures.

It is in that context that we welcome last week's appointment of another outstanding Jamaican man of letters, Mervyn Morris, as Jamaica's first Poet Laureate in 61 years.

Mervyn Morris' ability to have words dance and sway and excite emotions is beyond doubt. But just as important, his poetry is deeply rooted in Jamaica. Much of his writings, in their facets, demonstrate that he understands the aspirations of her people.

In that regard, Mervyn Morris' appointment does not merely come with the expectation of delivering verses for specific occasion, or as promoter of what the marketers these days refer to as 'Brand Jamaica'. Rather, Mervyn Morris is a symbol - of our capacity to perceive beauty, in ourselves and in our land, and to fashion tales and therefrom to extract larger truths, from which we can pack the foundation of a softer, gentler and more caring Jamaica.

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